Germany coach Joachim Löw insists he has good reasons for leaving out
some of his star names for friendly on Tuesday

Germany are not showing England “a lack of respect”, Joachim Löw insists, despite awarding an international debut to a 33-year-old goalkeeper and resting several stars from Friday’s draw with Italy: the Nationalmannschaft’s nemesis.

The senior keeper summoned to give Manuel Neuer, of Bayern Munich, a night off is none other than Roman Weidenfeller, the No 1 at Borussia Dortmund, so Löw has plenty of ballast for his argument.

But Germany’s decision to promote “upcoming players” for a game against the ancient foe is bound to be seen as a judgment on the respective threats posed by Italy and Roy Hodgson’s men.

One German columnist observed that Löw had downgraded the traditional rivalry from “a classic to a benefit match” for his fringe players.

Neuer, Philipp Lahm and Mesut Özil are all rested. “It was clear for me that I would use these two matches against Italy and England to try out a few new players, a few upcoming players, in key positions," Löw said, not altogether convincingly.

“And what better test for these upcoming players than playing to a partisan crowd of 80,000 English fans spurring their own team on?

“I needed to experiment a bit, and sent home some of the players who are firmly established. It was a deliberate acid test for these younger players.

"It’s definitely not a B-team in any respect, and there is no lack of respect towards our hosts. Speaking of whom: in November 2008 we hosted England in Berlin and England played without the likes of Rooney and Gerrard and Lampard, and beat us 2-1. There is no such thing as a B or an A-team for us.”

Löw, whose tenure as Germany coach has been characterised by abundant promise and tournament let-downs, called this latest Anglo-German encounter “an extraordinary match, at a mythical place”.

In the imposing Gladstone Library at the National Liberal Club in London he also offered an insight into German power.

“We really have stepped up our talent promotion scheme big time in Germany. We’ve improved our technical skills across the board,” he said. “We have great strength in depth. That is our great advantage at the moment.”

The deployment of a virtually full strength team against Italy reflected in part the fact that Germany have not beaten their southern neighbour for 18 years and were knocked out by them at the 2006 World Cup on home soil and again at Euro 2012.

Löw set out most of his starting XI against England: “Roman Weidenfeller will start in goal, Marcel Schmelzer will start at left-back, replacing Marcell Jansen; Sven Bender is likely to be in the holding midfield position, replacing Sami Khedira [who has ruptured a knee ligament]; Marco Reus – it’s not a secret that he will start. Per Mertesacker definitely will be one of the centre-backs, possibly with Mats Hummels and Jerome Boateng taking 45 minutes each.”

If a cloud floats across this Arcadia of mass talent cultivation it could be the workloads assigned to Dortmund and Bayern players, with some in Germany accusing Löw of overburdening Jürgen Klopp’s representatives. Löw rejects that claim: “We have six months to go now and I need these tests.

“Dortmund v Bayern Munich is just not my province. It’s not something I deal with deliberately. Just ask the players. They all want to play.

"Nor do I think Klopp or [Pep] Guardiola [the Bayern coach] would ever want to dictate anything to me. The odd club representative, maybe, but it’s not important to me.

“Of course I will make sure players don’t play twice for the whole 90 minutes. But I think it’s a media issue, with the media adding oil to the fire. It would be weak and lazy of you to do that because there’s no way people in their mid-twenties are over-burdened by having to play two matches in four days.”

Löw’s summary of his goalkeeping change would turn Hodgson green.

He said: “We weren’t exactly looking for goalkeepers because we have plenty. Manuel Neuer is our No 1 keeper. Rene Adler [Hamburg], having come back from injury, has played a vital part in our victories against Russia and France. We know what he’s worth.

"Roman deserves his chance in the German squad after all his fantastic club performances for Dortmund. With the World Cup coming up next year we’ve got to play several alternatives. He’s cool, calm and collected.”

Then came the compliments for his hosts: “England always have been and still are one of the big football nations.

“Looking in from the outside you can always say Rooney, Lampard and Gerrard are of elite calibre with a world of experience behind them. Andros Townsend is very quick, very dynamic. The defensive wide players are impressive. So England have nothing to fear in that department.

“Roy Hodgson is a fantastic coach. I first knew him when I was playing in Switzerland and he was national team coach. It was under him that Switzerland revolutionised their player formation system. He left the best possible marks and they are still visible today.

“On a personal level his career is characterised by success wherever he is. He’s won things. He’s a man of the world. He’s been to a host of countries where he’s learned about the people, the culture, the styles of play. And as a person he comes across as a gentleman. Perfect manners. Always has an open ear for young people. From a football point of view he’s fully conversant with what’s going in world football and from a development point of view.

“England are tactically different from Italy but they’re still playing with tremendous force. They have tackling power, a very dynamic approach and players who, with a solo effort, can decide a game if need be.”

The more German football shines, of course, the greater the expectation heaped on Löw to match at international level Bayern’s dominance.

At least Hodgson escapes this pressure. “The coaching staff and the players have very high expectations of themselves, so we will do everything we can to prepare ourselves for Brazil,” Löw said.

“At this stage though players have other things on their minds: the German championship, the Champions League, the German Cup. So if we put Brazil on the agenda at this early stage it’s too soon for them.”

A-team, B-team: whichever Germany are, England are looking a model system right in the eye.